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Egyptian exchange gains 1.3bn EGP in week

The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) closed this week, which ended Thursday with 1.3 billion EGP gains, while the market capitalization rose to 420.5 billion EGP, up from 419.2 billion EGP last week, data from the bourse showed on Friday.

The main benchmark index EGX30 went up 1.63 percent over the course of the week to close at 5,505.12 points.

Meanwhile, the small and medium caps index EGX70 dropped 2.09 percent to reach 345.91 points by the end of this week. Similarly, the broader index EGX100 fell 0.31 percent to 803.38 points.

Egypt buys 180,000 tons of wheat from Russia, Romania

Egypt’s General Authority of Supply Commodities (GASC) has signed contracts to import 180,000 tons of wheat from Russia and Romania, Youm7 reported Friday.

The deal comprises 60,000 tons from Russia and 120,000 from Romania, said GASC deputy head Mamdouh Abdel Fatah.

The average price of the purchased quantities including shipment fees is estimated at $189 per ton, and they will be shipped during the coming period, said Abdel Fatah.

The wheat was purchased through an international tender and will be used mainly to produce subsidized bread, he added.

The shipment will be examined upon arrival at Egyptian ports by international audit firms and the supply ministry’s technical committee, in order to make sure it conforms to the terms of the contract, he added.

Egypt remains the world’s largest wheat importer, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO.) The global organization said that Egypt’s wheat imports for 2015-2016 are “estimated at 11 million tons, about the same as the previous year and the average for the last five years.”

Egypt’s oil exports to EU rose to 2.35 bln Euro in 2016

Egypt’s oil exports to EU countries has risen by 4 percent during the first half of this year reaching 2.35 billion Euro compared to 2.26 billion Euro during the same period last year, Youm7 quoted a report by Trade Ministry.

The report also cited a 4 percent drop in size of Egyptian imports from EU markets during the same period this year to record 10.41 billion Euro after 10.89 billion Euro in 2015.

Orange Egypt signs 4G licence deal worth $484 mln

(REUTERS): Orange Egypt signed a licence deal on Thursday, paying $484 million to operate fourth-generation mobile phone services in the country of 90 million after the government agreed to offer it additional spectrum.

Egypt is selling four 4G licences as part of a long-awaited plan to reform the telecoms sector and to raise money for stretched government finances.

The country’s three existing mobile phone operators – Orange, Vodafone and Etisalat – initially all turned down the 4G licences saying the amount of spectrum on offer was not sufficient to allow them to offer the service efficiently.

The regulator then announced that operators which paid for the licence entirely in dollars would be given priority in buying additional spectrum. U.S. dollars are scarce in Egypt due to a long-running economic crisis.

Orange Egypt, a subsidiary of French telecoms group Orange , said early on Thursday it wished to “renegotiate acquisition of a 4G license in light of new terms.”

The regulator said the company had until October 23 to submit a formal offer but the chief executive of Orange Egypt signed a $484 mln deal on Thursday, receiving 10 megaherz of spectrum instead of the 7.5 initially on offer.

The head of Egypt’s telecom regulator said Orange would pay half the licence fee in Egyptian pounds and had also acquired a licence to offer fixed line services for a further $11 million.

Telecom Egypt, the state’s fixed-line monopoly, was the only company to take up the original offer, buying a 4G license in August for 7.08 billion Egyptian pounds ($797 million) to enter the mobile market directly for the first time. The company later offered to buy additional spectrum not acquired by other operators.

The regulator said it would reconvene on October 23 to discuss additional options for rolling out 4G services that include holding an international auction for the remaining licences and selling additional frequency to Telecom Egypt.

Qabil remarks came after a meeting with the Belgium Ambassador to Cairo, which tackled Egypt’s economic reform program that seeks an attractive atmosphere for local and foreign investments.

Japan to fund 2nd phase of Grand Egyptian Museum restoration

Japan is expected to fund the second phase of the restoration project of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) with $450 million Ministry of International Cooperation annoucned in a statement.

The ministry’s statement came after reaching an agreement with the Japanese Ambassador to Cairo to sign two deals, which also includes Japan’s financing to development projects of Cairo electricity grids.

The first phase of the GEM is expected to be inaugurated in 2017.

Suez Canal revenues increase to 3.8 bln EGP in July: CAPMAS

Suez Canal revenues for July have increased to 3.8 billion EGP compared to 3.7 billion EGP last year, annoucned a report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS.)

The report said that a total of 1,087 ships crossed Suez Canal during July 2016 compared to 1,106 ships last during the same month last year.